Jamie Dornan is mostly known for his recent role in the kinky sex-drama 50 Shades of Grey where he plays dominant millionaire Christian Grey opposite Dakota Johnson, in the adaptation of E.L. James' popular book series. Some may recognise him from successful television series The Fall where he plays Paul Spector, a husband and father who doubles as a psychotic serial killer. The psychological thriller was created by Allan Cubitt and also starts X-Files actress Gillian Anderson.

According to a recent interview with the LA Times, Dornan indulged in a slightly disturbing practice to get himself in the mindset of the creepy killer, Spector. In the interview, Dornan revealed he spent some time on the London underground 'stalking' women in order to understand the psyche of a serial killer. The Irish actor went on to describe his actions, claiming he followed one woman until she reached her stop and then lurked behind her for a few streets. He quickly went on to reiterate that the interaction was purely for research purposes and that he wasn't proud of himself for his actions; "Can we get arrested for this? Hold on...this is a really bad reveal. I, like, followed a woman off the train one day to see what it felt like to pursue someone like". An exceptionally dubious method of research; but just how damaging is this kind of behaviour?

The behavior and statements made my Dornan are actually rather horrifying and irreversibly damaging to the fight for female safety and independence. The idea that this unsuspecting woman was a mere subject in his practice of 'stalking' is exceptionally worrying. Despite his reasons for said 'stalking', is there an excuse for making light of such damaging behaviour towards women? One could argue that this behaviour suggests underlying misogynistic tendencies to Dornan's own character, as the following of a 'random' women suggests no real respect for women in general.

The Fall has already come up against a backlash from feminist groups for it's explicit depictions of violence against women. Creator, Cubitt, has since gone on to assure audiences, via The Huffington Poster, that what the show actually attempts to do is look at and dissect the violent character from a feminist point of you. If this is the case, are Dornan's comments contradicting the supposedly feminist intentions behind the shows ethos?

This website uses profiling (non technical) cookies, also third parties cookies, in order to send advertising messages according to user's preferences. To know our policy or to deny the consent for cookies use click here. If you continue the navigation through accessing each element below or you close this banner you agree to the use of cookies